Body garment having girth adjusting fastener means



March 18, 1952 J. L. WYNER 2,589,916

BODY GARMENT HAVING GIRTH ADJUSTING FASTENER MEANS Filed Sept. 18, 1950 A Y fa g Jwm'gifv;

Patented Mar. 18, 1952 BODY GARMENT HAVING GIRTH ADJUSTING FASTENER MEANS Justin L. Wyner, Brookline, Mass., assignor to The Vanta Company Inc., Newton, Mass., a coraccidental injury to the wearer.

poration of Rhode Island Application September 18, 1950, Serial No. 185,429

1 Claim. (01. 2-111) This invention pertains to wearing apparel, more particularly to a body garment of the Wrap-around type, for instance an infants shirt, having a neck opening and openings for the arms and having overlapping flaps (usually, although not necessarily, at the front of the garment), providing for girth adjustment, and more specifically relates to fastening means for adjustably uniting said overlapping flaps. As here illustrated by way of example, but without limiting intent, the invention is shown as embodied in an infants double-breasted undershirt or vest.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a garment of the above type having fastening means of a kind such as to facilitate the donning and dofilng of the garment. A further object is to provide a garment comprising overlapping flaps which are held in adjusted position without recourse to the use of pins or similar penetrating fasteners, thus removing danger of A further object is to provide fastener means such that the garment may be laundered by customary methods without substantial damage to the fastening means. A further object is to provide fastening means for an undergarment such that no metallic part will come in contact with the skin of the wearer. A further object is to provide a garment of the above type having fastener means which provides for an unusually wide range of girth adjustment but which reliably unites the garments flaps when in use. A further object is to provide fastening means which makes the use of tie strings or tapes unnecessary. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective, front elevation showing the invention as embodied in an infants shirt, the front flaps being shown in the overlapping position of use;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view with the front flap opened out to show its inner surface;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic elevation, to larger scale, showing a portion" of the outer surface of the inner flap and illustrating a preferred form of fastening means in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic, horizontal section on the line 4-4'of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, horizontal section, to large scale, showing the manner in which the fastener element on one flap engages the complemental fastening member of the other flap;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic, vertical section on the line B-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but to smaller scale, diagrammatically illustrating another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, illustrating a further embodiment.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral Iv designates a body garment, for instance an infants shirt, preferably made of knitted material in customary manner and having the body 2 which, as illustrated, is provided with short sleeves 3 and 4, respectively, although the provision of sleeves is of no consequence so far as the present invention is concerned. The garment has the neck opening 5 and front flaps 6 and I, the flap 6 being here illustrated as the outer flap which in use overlaps the flap 1 more or less in accordance with the adjustment of the garment to the girth of the wearer.

In accordance with the invention in its preferred form (Fig. 2), the flap 6 is provided at a point near its free edge and at its inner surface with a hook 8 which may be a conventional hook of the kind customarily used in garments. The other flap 1 is provided at its outer face (Fig. 2) with a horizontally elongate series 9 of fastener elements complemental to the hook 8, the fastener elements 8 and 9 being arranged at the same distance from the lower edge of the garment so that when the flap 6 overlaps the flap 1 the hook may be engaged with any selected one of the series of fastener elements 9.

In accordance with the present invention, the flap 1, which is the inner flap when the garment is in use, is likewise provided with a fastener element l 0, here shown as a hook, arranged at its outer face and near its free edge. The flap 6 is also provided, at its inner face, with a horizontally elongate series of fastener elements H complemental to the fastener element l0 and with any selected one of which the hook It] may be engaged when the flaps are overlapped. It may be noted that the hooks 8 and I0 point in the same direction when the flap 6 is opened out, as shown in Fig. 2, and it will be understood that the series 9 and II of fastener elements, complemental, respectively, to the hooks 8 and ID, will be so arranged that when the flaps are overla ed, as shown at Fig. 1. the hook 8 will be in position to engage a selected element of the series 9, and likewise the hook ID will be in position to engage a selected element of the series I I.

In a preferred construction, the fastener elements of the series 9 and II are formed as more particularly illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive.

Thus (as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 6) a length of textile tape I3 is extended horizontally of the flap 1, transversely of the knitted wales of the latter, and this length of tape is formed into spaced pleats M, the pleats being held in position and united to the flap 1 by vertically spaced, parallel, horizontal sewed seams I5 and I6, respectively, extending longitudinally of the length of tape. Preferably, additional seams I1 and I8, nearer to the opposite edges of the tape, afford further anchorage of the tape to the garment material and likewise assist in maintaining the pleats in the desired relationship.

By reason of the spacing of the seams i5 and l 6, it is possible to separate the edge of any given pleat from the body of the tape behind it so as to form a pocket I9 (Fig. 6) into which the hook portion of the complemental fastener may be entered, the free edge of the pleat at the pocket forming, in effect, an eye for the reception of the hook.

Preferably, the body portion of each hook, for example, the hook l0 (Fig. 3), is disposed between overlapping plies of the tape and the attaching .eyes .of the 'hook will receive sewing stitches G (Fig. 3) which will firmly anchor the hook to the tape "and preferably to the body of the garment. vnsiillustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the edge portion :of the garment flap may be provided with a trimming braid or binding I2.

While both series of fasteners 9 and ll have been here shown as of identical construction and the fasteners 8 and it have likewise been shown as of the same type, it is contemplated that one series offastener elements and the complemental single fastener of the other flap may be of one type while the other series of fastener elements and the complemental single fastener may be of another type. However, the type of fastener shown in .Figs. 3 to 6 has been found very desirable m'nce the soft textile tape provides adequate anchorage for the hook, although it is flexible so that it readily responds to the movements of :the wearer of the garment and may be given usual laundry treatment without danger of injury. Likewise the single hook element which cooperates with the series of fasteners is of small dimensions and does not protrude to a substan =tial extent from the face of the tape to which it is attachedso that the hook, with its backing of soft cushioning textile material, may likewise be subjected :to laundry treatment without substantial danger of injury.

While the above types of fastener elements are preferred, it is contemplated that, as illustrated for example in Fig. 7, there may be substituted for the pleated tape a series of independent, conventional eyes E (Fig. '7) attached to the tape T by sewing thread in the usual fashion, and with such conventional eyes, hooks, such as the hooks -8 and it, may cooperate for adjustably uniting the flaps of the garment.

.A further alternative is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein the tape T is shown as provided, near the edge of the garment, with a single snap fastener element S and with a series of complemental fastener elements S", the elements S and S" being the complemental parts of a conventional snap fastener.

While the invention has herein been illustrated with particular reference to an infants .of knitted fabric, it is readily to be under- ;stood that the invention is applicable to other types 10f garment, particularly to wrap-around body garments, such as bath robes, dressing gowns, etc., in which it is desired to unite overlapping portions in such a way as to provide for a wide range of girth adjustment while at the same time insuring the proper union of the parts until they are purposely separated. The provision of two series of fastener elements, each cooperating with a single fastening element carried by the other flap, provides double security and greatly lessens the possibility of accidental separation of the overlapping flaps.

Fastener elements such as disclosed in Figs. 3 to 6, for example, do not substantially detract from the usual desired characteristics of the garment to which they are applied, although they do, to some extent, provide added strength against undue stretching, which is sometimes an advantage particularly when they are located at the waist portion of the garment.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described by way of example, :it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An infant double-breasted shirt or single ply knitted material having a neck opening and openings for the arms and with provision for girth adjustment, said garment comprising inner and outer front flaps which, in use, are disposed with the outer flap overlying the inner flap to a greater or lesser degree according to the size of the infant and providing a double thickness of the material at the front of the infants body, a hook attached to the outer surface of the inner flap adjacent to the free edge of 'thefiap, another hook attached to the inner surface of the outer flap adjacent to the free edge of the latter, said hooks being at the same distance :fromthe lower edge of the garment and approximately at the waistline, and lengths of tape secured, respectively, to the inner and outer flaps, one length of tape being secured to the outer face of the inner flap and the other length of tape being secured to the inner face of the outer flap, each of said tapes extending horizontally approximately at the waistline and each of said tapes comprising a series of pleats permanently secured to the garment flaps, and being secured to the respective flaps of the garment by sewed seams which extend lengthwise of the tapes, the seams being spaced apart to leave the edges of the pleats free at the mid-Width of the tape for engagement'by the complemental fastener element, the hooks being directed oppositely when the flaps are overlapped, and the pleats having the central portions of their edges free to constitute eyes for the reception of the respective hooks, the parts being so constructed and arranged that when the garment is in use both hooks are interposed between said front and rear flaps and invisible from the outside of the garment.

JUSTIN L. NYNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

